Legacy Of Love

[horsedoc2008.livejournal.com]

Legacy Of Love

Picture courtesy of Shaz Young

You are laying there on a bed of shearing surrounded by the dark green of wet clover,
The moonlight washes over your body and I catch my breath, no greater beauty have my
Eyes beheld and you are mine, heart, mind, body and soul, the perfect gift wrapped up in
Only you, yellow hair cascades down your naked back like wheat silk, blowing slightly on the
Nightwind, could any man love a woman this much and still survive? My beating heart wonders,
Your bare skin glistens like a million diamonds, peppered by the rain, and I draw in a breath,
You hear me, tucked back here amongst the trees and turn your head in my direction...

'Does my knight have cause to hide from me?' you ask, as I step into the moonlit
Meadow, 'No m'lady, I have no cause,' I reply, 'only fear and trepidation.' Your eyes
Look up to meet mine and a wave of desire washes over me, buckling my knees,
Somehow I remain on my feet, 'Fear you say? Fear of what my knight?' 'Fear that I
Shall fall into your eyes and be lost forever m'lady.' Your smile is beatific as your
Arms reach up to me and a slow, seductive smile spreads across your lips like warm
Honey, 'And would that be so dreadful a fate my knight, to be lost within my soul?'

 

 I cannot answer, I cannot even speak, your hands are already working at the latches
Of my armor, practiced are they and agile, you miss not a beat, I am on my knees as
You rise up to slide a hand behind my head and draw my lips down to yours, such
Sweet surrender, indescribable bliss, with a touch I am yours so completely that
I have no other thought nor desire than to feel your skin beneath my hands, so long
Have I waited, so patient have I been, so many secret dreams have I had that
Sustained me through those long, wintry nights alone, now you are finally here...

My armor drops away and finally you can see what you have always known, my
Want and desire for you cannot be hidden, cannot be denied nor overlooked, you
Know what your touch does to me, what depths of emotion your kiss inflicts,
You draw me down and enfold me in your trembling arms, pressing my face hard
Against your warm, ample bosom, I breathe you in, a heady mixture of
Musk and magic that is uniquely you, so long have I waited to fill my
Senses with you, to drink deep and be intoxicated by your secret spells...

You pull my head back and look deep into my eyes, you seem to want an
Answer, an answer to a question I do not know, I move to kiss you again
But you hold me back, your emerald eyes boring holes through to my soul, I
Am Trembling with need, burning with want and yet, you will not be ignored,
'What is it, m'lady?' I ask, my voice deep and thick with unchecked passion,
I do not even recognize it as my own, 'What troubles you so?' Your eyes flash
With emotion, a fleeting glimpse of the woman who resides behind them...

Your hands run up and down the length of my arms as if to reassure
Yourself of my existence, as if to confirm that this is not another dream
From which you might awaken, you feel them tremble beneath your
Touch as you revel in the weight of my body poised over yours, then your
Silken lips part and the words tumble out, 'How many women do you
Lay with before you come to me my knight? Am I just a nameless, faceless
Vessel, another conquest to check off your list when you move on...?'

I lean down and kiss your lips with all the passion I can muster, then
Draw back to gaze down into the green depths of your eyes shining
Brightly in the moonlight, 'Lies fall freely from beautiful lips meant only
Seduce and nothing more.' I reply, 'But I am untouched by others,
Others who would seek to capture me with seductive smiles devoid
Of love and devotion. You are my first stop and last stop m'lady, for
No other dwells so deeply within the depths of heart and soul...'

Your eyes bore through mine, I can feel them searching, pushing
Aside the cobwebs, dusting off the shelves inside my mind, looking
For the answers that you seek and finally finding them resting quietly
In some darkened corner, recessed from light of day and hidden
From prying eyes, you smile up at me then pull me down, enfolding
Me in arms which feel so familiar, so soothing and yet so exciting
That I can barely draw in a breath, barely utter a sensible word...

'Then stay with me until the sun splits the sky and you must go.'
Your fingers run through my hair as your words fall softly upon my
Ears, 'Stay with me my knight, and love me as you have loved
No other, for I am as cursed as you, and it is only you and you
Alone that I yearn for while you are away.' There are no need for
Words, no need for polite repartee, we have both danced this
Dance a thousand times before, and know each step by heart...

You reach down and touch me, desire races up my spine
Exploding within me like fireworks making me draw in a
Sharp, tortured breath of want and need, I struggle to get
My bearings but it is fruitless, I am caught fast by your longing,
Captured by your hunger and your craving, it envelopes me
In a cloud of yearning so thick I can taste it upon my tongue,
Nothing can stop it now, too long have we both waited for this...

A soft, subtle cry comes from your lips as we become one
And your eyes catch mine in a steady gaze, you want to see,
To know, to understand the depths of my emotion, the truth
Behind my words, but I cannot lie to you, even if my lips
Were capable of uttering a falsehood my body would betray
Me none the less just as it betrays me now, I feel like such an
Unpracticed fool, clumsy and awkward in my haste to love you...

But you seem to understand, to feel the desperate impetuousness
Of my need and respond to it accordingly, accepting, knowing that
It is not meant to disrespect, but only to reveal the uncontrolled
Desire that has been pent up for far too long, pushed aside and
Ignored until the night affords me solitude and peace to dream
About this very thing, to feel your arms again, to taste your lips,
And know without doubt that only your love dwells within my heart...

Although by document and indenture you belong unto another,
Love cannot be measured by the jewelled and golden spires of a
Crown nor bargained for by property or wealth, I've no wish to go
Against my King and yet my love for his Queen outweighs anything
Of value I can name, we both risk death to be within each others
Arms praying each and every time we meet that prying eyes have
Not seen you sneaking out into the night beyond the castle walls...

But tonight is different, I will not continue to love you from afar
Letting only fleeting dreams remind me of what I feel when I am
With you, of how your body wraps itself round mine and will not
Let me go until daylight inches it's way up over the horizon, this
Night I throw all caution to the wind and shout my love for you
Up into the heavens to mingle with the stars and be carried
Across the Universe on the blazing tail of a comet into eternity...

As if reading my thoughts you put a gentle finger against
My lips to silence me and smile, there are no need for words,
No need for promises too dangerous to think of let alone
To try and keep, your love is mine for all eternity regardless,
So put all thoughts of treachery away and never give them
Voice again, I am forever yours in whatever capacity you
May need, so do not think my love for you will ever wane...

You pull me down and erase whatever thoughts or protests
I may have wanted to express as your hands and body take
Me to a far away place, a place where only you and I exist,
Where only you and I reside in secret until the end of time,
And even after hours of loving you I still feel such a sense
Of loss when the first rays of light glint off the dew kissed
Clover, for I know that it is time to leave you yet again...

As we stand naked and shivering I wrap my cloak around
Us both and pull you tightly to my chest, I look down to meet
The deep green of your eyes and know instinctively what
Thoughts are flowing through your mind because they mirror
Mine, there is no need for mindless prattle nor empty
Platitudes, I must go and you must stay, each of us a
Prisoner of circumstance, trapped forever in our roles...

You draw my face down to yours and kiss me hungrily
Stirring passions not nearly hidden deep enough nor
Tucked away soon enough that the feel of you does not
Draw them back toward the surface in an instant, then your
Soft lips are at my ear, warm and moist promising you will
Be here as always the next time I pass this way again, but a
Cold, icy finger of dread pricks my heart and makes it bleed...

I fear this is the last time that I will hold you in my arms and
Love you this way again, you step back from me to dress,
Then help me put on the armor that keeps us apart in so many
Ways, a King's most trusted knight in love with his Queen, who
Could ask for more tragic a romance? I shake my head as you
Kiss away the single tear I had not noticed rolling down cheek,
My heart feels leaden, so grief stricken as it beats within my chest...

'May I ride with you my knight?' you ask as my charger makes
His way to my side from beneath a stand of trees, I mount his
Back and extend a hand, pulling you up behind me as your arms
Go round my waist, you lay your head against my back and
Hear a ragged sigh escape my lips, I cannot help it, each time
I leave a thousand deaths I suffer until we meet again, it is such
Sweet torture, but one I gladly give myself over to time and again...

'I will take you to the stream m'lady but no farther, it is there that
I must leave you lest someone sees you returning with me from
The glen. But this I promise, I will see you in a fortnight and make
You mine forever, this I swear with everything I am or hope to
Be.' You squeeze me snuggles in tightly against my back, even
Now my heart and soul scream and rage against our parting so
Deep is my love for you so unwavering my devotion and loyalty...

We ride together in abject silence, neither one wanting to voice
The sadness we both feel, in mind and spirit we are one, in body
And soul our hearts have already fused together in a bond that
Cannot be broken nor marred by the cruelties of life, it is the
One true constant that binds us here, as we ride on through the
Mist it seems to chill us both, the morning rays of sunlight doing
Nothing to warm us, but only making things seem stark and clear...

As I help you slide to the ground you pause to look up at me,
Your eyes wet with tears and your lips moist and parted, 'I will
See you in a fortnight m'lady, of this I promise.' I say, 'And
When I return I will make you mine forever.' 'But how can you
Promise me this my knight, when doing so would only mean your
Death?' 'Death is worth one more taste of your lips, one more
Night that I can lay within your arms and love you for eternity.'

Your smile is brief and fleeting, washed away all too soon as you
Glance towards the castle keep which stands like a gray dungeon
Beckoning you back within it's walls, you have to go, we both
Know this, to linger thus would only cause us harm, and so you
Pull me down and kiss my lips with shocking intensity, caring
Not who sees us locked in such an embrace, 'Come back to me
My knight and claim me as your own. I will be waiting here for you.'

With that you turn and are gone from me, fading into the mist like
A vision only briefly glimpsed yet not forgotten, I turn my charger
And dig my heels into his side, far away must I be from this place
Lest I storm the walls and drag you from your chamber before
The sun has fully risen in the sky, such is my desire and my need,
I care not who knows of our secret love nor do I care if the King
Himself is waiting even now for me to set my foolish plan into motion...

It is your love, your touch, your taste, the feel of you and the scent
Of your desire on my fingertips which drives me to this madness,
I cannot see into the future, nor know the outcome of what will
Happen when I return, but if I die, I will die with the taste of you
Still on my tongue and a smile upon lips, knowing that at least
My death has counted for something, and that when I spoke my
Last word, it was your name which floated softly from my lips...

I love you m'lady, more than words can express or emotions can
Convey, there is no greater love than ours, no love more forbidden
Or full of passion and desire, I can still feel your warm, moist body
Moving under mine, the tightness of your legs about my waist and I
Close my eyes against a wave of extraordinary yearning, even now
As I ride miles from the castle, I can still feel myself deep inside you,
And wonder briefly if a man can die of lust or be stricken down by love...

One fortnight, fourteen days without you, without the softness of your
Lips against mine, without your practiced hands upon my aching flesh,
How will I ever survive? It seems a monumental task, but one which
I must endure in order to make you mine once and forever, no matter
What the outcome m'lady no man will ever love you thus, nor sacrifice
His very life for one last look into your eyes, this is my legacy of love,
A divine gift which I shall carry through the shrouded mists of time...